Sugar et al, Author at Sugar et al

Pretty In Pink. White Chocolate Cherry Mud Cake, Lemon Mousse, Pink Popcorn Glass

29|11|2013

It has been a while since I made a proper dessert. I mean.. like something different…not the usual. Delicate, multi layered, different elements, fancy garnishes. You know the kind.. when you look at the dessert, you immediately want to take out your mobile phone a snap a picture. The one that makes you hesitate a little bit because you think it’s too pretty to eat.

Yes, I am talking about the reactions to this one when I brought this to the table for my guests.

I have taken to pink lately (you know, right?). So it was a choice between raspberry, strawberry or a cherry based dessert. I chose the last one as I had a jar of maraschino cherries so if you want to make this you don’t have wait till berry or cherry season.

When I make such desserts with the cake as a base, I prefer a dacquoise or a mud cake. If mud cake is new to you, it’s a dense, slightly heavy cake that doesn’t crumb easily and is incredibly easy to make. We get chocolate and caramel versions everywhere in Australia. I made adjustments to my dark chocolate mud cake recipe by replacing it with white chocolate and the cherry syrup inside the jar. For the lemon mousse, I’ve added a little extra gelatine to my usual mousse recipe so it would hold together while piping.

The popcorn glass is a variation to a praline or a brittle. Instead of nuts, I’ve used crushed pink popcorn (store-bought). For me, the garnish is of utmost importance as that is what gives a dessert the ‘wow’ factor. If you are making this, try to use a mix of white and pink. It looks pretty that way.

By no means is this a light dessert. It is rich but oh so delicious! Sweet fudgy cherry cake, tangy creamy lemon mousse, crunchy bits of toffee and juicy plump maraschino cherries.

I haven’t been able to find a suitable name for this one. Any suggestions?
Also if you like this, you may want to check out this chocolate dessert and this duo.

White Chocolate Cherry Mud Cake, Lemon Mousse, Pink Popcorn Glass
Makes 6

White Chocolate Cherry Mud Cake

125 g butter, roughly chopped
100g white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup castor sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup cherry syrup (from the jar)
1 cup plain flour
1 tbsp self-raising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 medium eggs, lightly whisked
3-4 drops pink food colouring

Preheat oven to 160 degree C. Brush a 7 inch square or round cake pan with melted butter. Line the bases and sides with non-stick baking paper.

Combine the butter, chocolate, sugar, water and cherry syrup in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in combined flour. Stir in buttermilk and egg. Add the pink food colouring and mix till uniformly coloured. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, cut into rectangles of 3 by 1.5 inch and keep aside.

Lemon Mousse
(this will make a lot of mousse. The recipe can either be halved or served as a dessert on its own)

1 cup lemon curd (store-bought or home-made, recipe here)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp powdered gelatine
1 tbsp water

In a small bowl mix the gelatine and water and set aside for 5 minutes for the gelatine to bloom. Either in the microwave or using the double boiler method, gently heat the mixture so that the gelatine dissolves completely. Cool to room temperature.

Whisk the whipping cream and sugar till you reach soft peaks. Fold in the lemon curd gradually. Add the gelatine mixture and fold through. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Pink Popcorn Glass

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup pink popcorn, crushed

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Spread the popcorn over the tray.

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar completely dissolves. Bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, occasionally brushing down side of the pan with a wet pastry brush, for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Pour toffee evenly over the popcorn in the baking tray. Set aside for 10 minutes to set. Break into shards.

To serve : Fill up a piping bag with the lemon mousse and pipe swirls on a mud cake base. Repeat with the remaining bases. Top with Maraschino Cherries and popcorn glass.

Candy Cane Cupcakes. White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream

26|11|2013

I know I am starting early but it’s hard to resist with all the inspiration around. The shelves at the stores are filled with sweet holiday inspiration…Candies, cookies, puddings and so on..I am excited just looking at them. I so love this time of the year. And I plan to do a lot of baking in the next few days leading up to New Year’s.

I intended to post this along with my children’s favourite recipes last week but couldn’t do so. Kids and candies..classic pairing! So I had to do at least one candy based recipe. I’ve come across a lot of candy cane cupcakes mostly using dark chocolate, therefore I made mine using White chocolate. The frosting is a simple buttercream flavoured with peppermint extract. There is a subtle caramel flavour from the white chocolate in the cupcakes. I wouldn’t say I was blown away by the pairing, but it tasted good.

I have used my basic vanilla cupcake recipe (from Joy of Baking) with a little melted white chocolate added to it. I love the pink colour in the frosting…actually I love pink desserts. Which means you need to watch out for what is coming up next. Or can I say I have been painting the town pink.

I will be back with more of my pink creations shortly!

Candy Cane Cupcakes. White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
Yields 12

White Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 g), room temperature
1/2 cup castor sugar
3 large eggs
100 g white chocolate, melted
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line a muffin tray with 12 paper liners. In the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted white chocolate and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk in three additionss, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 15-20 mins or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost with icing.

Peppermint Buttercream

2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp peppermint extract
3-4 drops pink food colouring

In an electric mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. With the mixer on low-speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high-speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more sugar or milk as needed. Add the peppermint extract. Tint with pink food colouring.

Ginger and Chilli Chicken Dumpling Soup

23|11|2013

Every time I talk about rains in my posts, it is followed by comfort food. Today is no different. It has rained all of this week keeping us indoors, craving for some fresh air. The little sunshine that followed almost tricked me into believing that the weather has improved and twice I found myself caught in the middle of a heavy downpour, racing home to save my head.

In such situations, I have learnt to treasure a warm bowl of soup. Especially the ones which make a meal by itself. More importantly, the ones that come together quickly. This Asian flavoured soup has no added fats…the chicken dumplings are put together in minutes and poached in the broth. I did tell you how much I rely on minced meat or chicken to come up with simple and quick meals. While I am making the dumplings, the noodles gets cooked on another burner…drain, rinse and add to the broth. That simple. The flavours are gorgeous..ginger-y…so refreshing and warm.

If you are sharing this with children, remove the chillies. Add them separately to your meal like I do. If you find the mince mixture too soft to shape into dumplings, add a tbsp of rice flour. The dumplings cook pretty fast. Take care not to overcook them. 3-4 minutes on either side should do. You can break open one to check. If cooked correctly, they will be juicy and soft. Kecap Manis is a sweet Indonesian Soya Sauce..if not available at hand, you can use equal measures of regular soya sauce and palm sugar or honey. Bok Choy also referred to as Chinese cabbage is extensively used in Asian cuisine. If you do not have access to it, substitute with spring onions, basil or coriander.

Ginger and Chilli Chicken Dumpling Soup
Serves 4

For the dumplings
400 g chicken mince
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 egg white (small)
a handful, coriander leaves, finely chopped

For the broth
4 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp red chillies, finely sliced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp Kecap Manis
Salt to taste

To Serve
Noodles (Udon or rice noodles cooked as per instructions on the pack..I used Udon Noodles)
4 baby Bok Choy, leaves separated
Extra red chillies, to serve

Prepare the noodles following packet directions or until tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, place the chicken, egg white, ginger, coriander and sweet chilli sauce together in a bowl. Using wet hands shape a tablespoon of mixture into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chicken mixture.

Place the stock, lime juice, Kecap Manis, ginger, sliced chilli, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the chicken balls gradually and cook turning once in between (3-4 minutes on each side) or until cooked through.

Add the Bok Choy to the pan and cook for 30 seconds or until Bok Choy just wilts. Divide the noodles and dumpling soup among serving bowls. Garnish with extra chillies. Serve immediately.

Croissant Pudding

20|11|2013

There is not much to write about a Bread and Butter Pudding since it is so popular and probably one of the simplest recipes that exist. I make it all the time for my kids with different fruits, nuts and accompaniments. It is one of those recipes that you make and eat without giving much thought to. Then one day while flipping through a cookbook, the words ‘Croissant Pudding’ caught my eye…actually it was the picture that got my attention. Neat slices of pudding cut and served onto a plate. The idea instantly appealed to me. After all looks do matter and variety is the spice of life! And for some reason nothing excites me more than a recipe makeover.

We are big fans of Croissants so the hardest part is to let it stale for a day. My husband was quite disappointed when he found out that they were meant for a sweet recipe and not being served with afternoon tea. However, the kids loved it and went back for seconds. The pudding is not too heavy or rich on account of soaking the croissants in custard for about an hour, as the original recipe stated. Serve it with fruit or cream or even caramel sauce. The best thing about this pudding is that it tastes great, warm or cold.

It has been a busy week for me and our weather has not exactly been the best. But I have been feeling happy planning my boy’s birthday and on account of a few things that have been happening to my blog lately. My Cauliflower and Broccoli Gratin was featured on the Huffington Post and that made my weekend. This was exactly a month after the Golden Apple Ginger Cake was featured on the Kitchn. There have been others too but now I really don’t intend to blow my own trumpet. I just wanted to say that it means a lot to me to see all the hard work I do being recognised and appreciated. And to know that so many people out there give me their time…reading through my posts or pinning my pictures…following my recipes…I am overwhelmed…I am moved and I am ever so grateful.

Croissant Pudding (adapted with variation from the Delicious Cookbook)
Serves 6-8

4 croissants (preferably day-old), torn into large chunks
4 eggs
1/2 cup (110 g) castor sugar
300 ml milk
300 ml pure (thin) cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
Caramel sauce, to serve
Toasted flaked almonds and seasonal fruit, to serve

Grease the base and sides of a 1-litre terrine or loaf pan and line with baking paper. Pack the croissants into the terrine or pan, then set aside.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until just combined. Place the milk, cream and vanilla pod and seeds in a saucepan over low heat and bring to just below boiling point, then gradually pour the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add the orange zest and whisk well to combine, then pour the mixture over the croissants in the pan and stand at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the custard to soak in – this will make for a lighter pudding.
Bake the pudding for 45 minutes until just set and golden on top (cover with foil if it’s browning too quickly). Remove the pudding from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then turn out and slice. Place on a serving platter and drizzle with caramel sauce and scatter with almonds and fruits.